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Original poster

Any children's books you want to ban?

96 replies

pointydog · 21/04/2007 10:05

Do you try to stop your child coming into contact with books that you do not approve of? Are there any you ban from the house?

I know someone who does not want Horrid Henry in the house.

I think this is extreme.

OP posts:
Blandmum · 21/04/2007 12:32

Sorry, stunning typo on my part don't really like the thought of banning books

suzycreamcheese · 21/04/2007 12:37

glad you cleared that up mb!

thought jacqueline wilson was really popular dont know her books personally...sort of healthy to like things that annoy your parents though isn't it?

i obviously push book wise what i enjoy dr suess edward lear things but ds likes all sorts....its up to them no?...

chocolattegirl · 21/04/2007 12:47

If my dd is anything like me, she'll read anything that should be beyond her or would probably be considered unsuitable. I used to sneakily read my parents library books before I was allowed to do so openly about the age of 14 or so (when I got an adult library ticket). Strangely enough the literature I should have been reading at school I disliked heartily - Kes and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner being prime examples. I thought that they were pap but then the message meant nothing to me at the time. Probably a bit of a Norf/Sarf divide there though .

Blandmum · 21/04/2007 12:57

Lots of quite 'adult' type stuff in them when dd wasnted to read at a very young age. She was a stunning reader at 7 and wanted to read books that were really aimed at older girls.

Which is sort of the reason I didn't like them, if I am honest.

Chocolateface · 21/04/2007 13:07

Any press the button: hear a really horrid loud noise book. I've managed to murder two such 'books'.

My mother once took a book back to the library when I was about 14 and complined I'd been alowed to take it out. It was a teenage romance. I really wasn't ever into books, but I went back to the library and got it out agiain. She really was being prudish!

wheresthehamster · 21/04/2007 14:09

"The Kingdom by the Sea" by Robert Westall. This is in the junior school library and is accessed by 7 year olds. "Bloody" "bugger" and "shit" are littered throughout the book.

Apologies to Robert Westall if I'm confusing his book with another similar one. I just remember being incensed when dd1 brought this home. The school didn't seem bothered.

Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 14:22

Why would you not like dc reading Narnia books, pruni? Apart from the fact most are var tedious and kids might start saying pax.

OP posts:
Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 14:24

oh yeah, I've heard people being anti-Jacqueline wilson, also Fairy books, Cpt Underpants.

However I have seen children write very good stories in the style of Daisy Meadows and J Wilson.

OP posts:
Moomin · 21/04/2007 14:30

It's a good point mb makes about dcs reading being above their reading age but finding the more challenging books containing material that's above their understanding or rather what you'd want them to be reading at that age. There should be a list of books for good readers that are age appropriate somewhere.

On the other hand, we struggle at our school finding books that deal with relevant stuff for the age group when the kids are poor readers. A lot of the books they are able to read are very baby-ish. There area few publishers who have started bringing out more 'teen'-themed books for weaker readers but they are thin on the ground.

knakered · 21/04/2007 14:37

WITH horrid henry it depends if your children are old enough to see the irony...given a choice I would prefer they read more inspiring literature...I remember reading one of the Roal Dahls...Madeline ...where the parents were really nasty...agin my kids didnt get it ...probably too young at the time...I think the liberal "censorship" debate is a bit lame/self righteous...how far do you extend this then...do you leave copies of the Sun lying around andd then discuss why some women feel it is OK to take their clothes off for money!!..

knakered · 21/04/2007 14:44

on another point ...bookshops irritate me ...where "girls" and "boys" books are separate...the girls comes all merchandised up with pink fluffy bits hanging off...when I ask my daughter to choose a book she goes for the sparkly stuff so now I just choose them myself for her....so I an "censoring2 by one definition or being a responsible parent by another...also at school they had a book fair - agin they had loads of trashy "action man" stuff etc and those fairy books of which there are 26 titles correlating to the most curently popular girls names such a load of marketing bull -- nothing to do with the love or reading or books - was really cross that scholl allowed those to be display/sold ...as guess what all of the kids including mine wanted..?

Blandmum · 21/04/2007 14:47

getting the right reading level of books for kids of different ages can be a real problem.

I was form tutor to some kids last year and used to take them to the school library every 2 weeks to take out books.. Some of the boys had very poor reading abilities,but didn't want to read stuff they saw as too 'babyish' (quite resonably)

The librarian got some 'quick reads' which were quite good. At that point boys who could read well started to take these out, basically to take the piss. And wrecked the system

Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 14:49

"I think the liberal "censorship" debate is a bit lame/self righteous...how far do you extend this then...do you leave copies of the Sun lying around andd then discuss why some women feel it is OK to take their clothes off for money!!.."

you think it's lame and self-righteous not to censor, knackered?

And to answer, of course I don't leave the Sun lying around. Point is, they'll come across it themselves soon enough. I didn't choose to sprinkle 50 fairy books round my house

OP posts:
Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 14:51

I agree on the segregated nature of boys' and girls' books in book shops, though.

And all teh marketing bollox. You're hard pushed to find a decent selection of children's books in book shops now and that does annoy me when there are so mnay out there.

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Blandmum · 21/04/2007 14:53

I don't see a problem in guiding kids' reading habits though, do you?

I steer dd away from JW and to things that I feel she will have a better chance of understanding on an emotional level.

Rather like I steer her towards things that she will actually eat when we go out for supper! All well and good her being advernturous but I knew that she wouldn't like the spinich pizza, so I I sugested a 'La reine' instead!

Likewise with JW. At 7 she wasn't up to coping with some of the plot lines. At 10 , now she stands a bettwe chance.

Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 14:59

see what you mean, mb. Have to admit, although I steer dds towards certain books sometimes (when they're looking for something new) I never steer them away from anything.

Dd2 loves JW - now 8, started reading age 7 - and quite a lot of the heavy-going issues go over her head. Just like when she watches Grease. Doesn't stop her enjoyment of the books.

OP posts:
hewlettsdaughter · 21/04/2007 15:15

I would love to know if there was "a list of books for good readers that are age appropriate" (to quote Moomin).

I like to guide my ds in his book selection, as he wants to read books aimed at 12+, although he is only 7.

madamez · 21/04/2007 15:17

Knaickered: The Sun wouldn't be lying around in our house because I don't choose to buy/read it. But that wouldn't necessarily stop DS (in years to come, he's only 2, even if he is a bit advanced) picking up a copy on the bus or something.

And are there really still people out there who won't let a kid read a book because, ooh, squeeak, it's got a naughty swear word or two in it? For fucks' sake!

GeeGee2 · 21/04/2007 15:24

I don't need to ban things as I struggle to get my DDs to read anything. I love reading so I think this is their rebellion against me.

However I recently had to buy a book for a 12 year old girl as a present. She is an advanced reader (in terms of ability) but is quite immature for her age in terms of emotions etc. Her mother is also determined to keep certain subjects away from her daughter for as long as possible.

There are also certain themes which for personal reasons are also no no's (death, divorce etc.)

I found it really difficult to find anything which I felt her mother would deem appropriate.

I would have allowed most things, but I feel I need to respect her sensibilities.

ViscountessPetitLapin · 21/04/2007 15:27

I don't want Horrid Henry books in the house, because I have a DS called Henry!

wheresthehamster · 21/04/2007 17:05

The puffin good reading guide looks like it suggests age appropriate reading books.

Original poster
pointydog · 21/04/2007 17:18

har lapin!

OP posts:
SSShakeTheChi · 21/04/2007 17:26

Some books are just so nauseatingly painfully BORING. The Magic Pony ones spring to mind. I yawn my way through those. Grim.

I did really suffer through endless repeats of Thomas the Tank Engine books a couple of years ago. Thankfully we're beyond those now.

Everything from Disney I can do without.

collision · 21/04/2007 17:33

We have banned Horrid Henry in our house.

DH put his foot down as he could not believe the difference in ds1's behaviour.

We took the CDs when we went to stay at my parents and even my father was shocked when he heard what Henry says to his brother.

DS became really spiteful to ds and once we banned it he calmed down again.

I am not keen on Thomas books but I do like Enid Blyton.

PrincessPeaHead · 21/04/2007 17:34

I don't ban anything but I am SO glad my dd is past the bloody animal ark series of books (you know... Badger in the Basement, Shetland in the Shed, Guinea Pigs in the Garage aurghghghghghghgh)

just crap books craply written and so boring as well. Lucy Daniels must be raking it in but boy how she holds her head up in public I don't know!